April 22 (Reuters) – Netflix Inc reported on Monday
a first-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations as the
dominant video rental service added 2 million new U.S. streaming
subscribers, and its shares soared 24 percent.

Netflix shares rose to $216.62 in after-hours trading, after
closing at $174.37 on Nasdaq.

(Reuters) – Tom Cruise’s post-apocalyptic thriller “Oblivion” wiped out the box office competition, racking up $38.2 million in weekend ticket sales during its U.S. and Canadian debut.

The debut of “Oblivion” knocked baseball movie “42″ into second place. The drama about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the Major Leagues, earned $18 million from Friday through Sunday after leading the charts a week ago.

(Reuters) – Cable news channel CNN saw a big spike in ratings as viewers kept tuned to its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing, even after an embarrassing mistake in which it claimed a suspect was taken into custody earlier in the week.

Viewership on Time Warner-owned CNN nearly doubled from the previous week, from the first news of the bombings that killed three people at the race’s finish line to the start of a manhunt for two suspects.

Charlie Ergen, the colorful chairman of Dish who
orchestrated the surprise counter-bid on Monday, said that by
marrying the No. 2 satellite TV carrier with the No. 3 mobile
services provider, the combined company would be able to offer
consumers more.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Baseball drama “42,” the story of Jackie Robinson becoming the first black player in the major leagues more than 60 years ago, took home a win at the movie box office after scoring $27.3 million from weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

The film about the Hall of Fame player topped industry forecasts for an opening of about $20 million. It defeated new horror spoof “Scary Movie 5,” the second-place finisher with $15.2 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

LOS ANGELES, April 14 (Reuters) – Baseball drama “42,” the
story of Jackie Robinson becoming the first black player in the
major leagues more than 60 years ago, took home a win at the
movie box office after scoring $27.3 million from weekend ticket
sales in the United States and Canada.

The film about the Hall of Fame player topped industry
forecasts for an opening of about $20 million. It defeated new
horror spoof “Scary Movie 5,” the second-place finisher with
$15.2 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio
estimates.

March 31 (Reuters) – Action movie “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”
won the weekend box office battle in the United States and
Canada, fighting off competition from cartoon cavemen, a Tyler
Perry drama, and an alien-possessed heroine trying to save the
human race.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Animated prehistoric adventure “The Croods,” about a family of cave dwellers fighting for survival, claimed the top spot on movie box office charts with $44.7 million from weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

The 3-D children’s comedy from “Shrek” and “Madagascar” creator Dreamworks Animation added $63.3 million from international markets, the studio said on Sunday, for a global total of $108 million.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – After mining the worlds of fairy tales, zoos, dragons and martial arts pandas, DreamWorks Animation is going back to the Stone Age with “The Croods,” in the hope of finding a new box office hit.

“The Croods,” out in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, is being watched closely by analysts after the weak performance of “Rise of the Guardians” last year, which led DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc to write down about $87 million in costs.